Page 27 of Pretend it’s Forever

Because it was Sophia that did that to me. One look at her and I couldn’t fucking breathe.

I moved down the hallway, needing a breath, and realized I hadn’t been the only one to make that choice.

Sophia looked up at me then, and her face paled.

“Carson.”

“Fuck this,” I growled, and then I moved forward and took what I wanted.

Because that’s the kind of man I was, apparently.

She didn’t protest as I cupped her face and crushed my mouth to hers.

At this edge of the hallway, we were the only two here, and nobody could see, and I didn’t care. I pushed her against the wall, and she didn’t resist. Instead, she grabbed my suit jacket and pulled me closer. She tasted of sugar and sweetness, and I knew she hadn’t been drinking tonight. She was clearheaded, unlike me.

Two sips of whiskey and I wasn’t gone over. No, it was all her that brought me to the edge.

I cursed to myself as I deepened the kiss, needing her taste, needing her. She wore a flowing lilac dress, and I slid my hand up her thigh, caressing the soft silk of her skin. When my thumb brushed against the side of her panties, she stiffened and pushed on my chest.

I let out a deep breath, my chest heaving as I rested my forehead against hers.

“No.”

“Okay.”

I wouldn’t force, and hell, I shouldn’t have even kissed her. But I couldn’t stop myself from needing her. If she’d said no, if she’d pushed me away, I’d have stopped. I wasn’t that man. But I still wasn’t a good man. I wanted her, but that was my problem.

It always had been.

“I...I came to dance. I needed to dance.”

I brushed her hair from her face and slid my thumb over her swollen lips.

“You wanted this though.”

I needed to make sure. It might have sounded as if it were an order, an accusation, but it was a desperate need.

She licked her lips, her tongue darting out against my thumb, and my dick pulsed.

“I wanted a lot of things.”

Her eyes filled with something I couldn’t read, and then she ducked under my arm and limped down the hallway.

I cursed under my breath and hoped to hell I hadn’t hurt her more.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” a deep voice snarled, and I turned to see Dorian standing there, empty glass in hand, and a scowl on his face.

“She’s a grown woman, Dorian.”

I hadn’t meant for anyone to see. Fuck. I hadn’t wanted the Cages to find out. But now, there was no going back.

“You know what she’s been through. And you attack her and put your hands on her in this hallway?”

“Like I said, she’s a grown woman. And when she wanted it to stop, I did. I would never force her. Don’t fucking put me in the same column as that man.”

“That’s my sister.”

“Get over it,” I snapped. “She’s a woman. A fucking gorgeous woman. And I didn’t do anything she didn’t want.”